The Ruination of Zazikel
by Gael Grimm
Summary: The chantry teaches us that it is the insatiable pride of men that brought the darkspawn to Thedas. It makes no never mind which race "started" it. The darkspawn will kill us all Dwarf, Human, or Elf-kind. Zazikel has risen to see it done. Second Blight Spin-off of the BioWare games.


_Author's Note: __This is a little off the beaten path and I would appreciate any feed back on this, good or bad._

The dawn broke in a heavy red bloom, as though someone had painted blood across the horizon. The air was still and heavy with morning haze and the wind held it's breath save for the minimal amount that caused the eerie mist to swirl uninvitingly around the feet of the approaching riders. The travel party halted outside of what used to be the city of Nordbotten, the horses and oxen danced under the wide arch nervous at the smell of blood. Seven figures, cloaked against the cold and damp, dismounted and made their way into the smoldering city. One of the more diminutive of the figures stumbled walking in to the main square and was steadied by another soldier.

"I am sorry Neriah."

"It is of little consequence Faren. These people are already dead; there is nothing we can do for them now." Her answer was concise and lacked the emotion he had come to expect from her.

"Enough consolations! I want two teams of three and sweep the city, or at least what we can of it. We need to make sure there are no 'spawn here before moving to Hossberg." Corin ordered removing his long swords from their saddle mounts. "Neriah, Brahma you're with me. Zola stays here. The rest of you, we meet here before nightfall."

Neriah stepped close to Zola, the brunette seemed at ease with the order but the corners of her eyes were tight. "Do not worry; you are a warden not a farm hand with a pitch fork. Keep a weather eye and you will be fine." She turned to stand in front of the other woman, "Blessed are those who stand before the corrupt and the wicked and do not falter..."

"Blessed are the peacekeepers, the champions of the just." replied Zola as she quickly grasped Neriah's hand.

"Before the ground swallows us Neriah!" Corin said looking at the mage. Growling to herself she joined Corin and Brahma walking toward the west section of town.

They wandered for a great many hours picking there way around fallen pieces of building and charred remains of a city that was prosperous before the awakening of the Old God Zazikel. The last 80 years or so the city remained dead, a monument of the ground and the lives they had lost. At least that's what the people of the Anderfels thought, the Grey Wardens however believed it may be a camp for the darkspawn that were congregating in the shadows of the Hunterhorn Mountains. The quiet streets gave the party a sense of unease and the lingering smell of blood was far too fresh to be from a battle almost a century ago. The day whiled away to an early dusk with the party finding nothing of merit to report to their commander.

"There ain't anything here." Brahma sighed in her Duster brogue from a past life. The three stood from their seats and Corin lead them back through the streets toward the gates.

"Wait, did you hear that?" Neriah asked, the hand on her ornate staff tightening, turning her knuckles white as she turned to the northeast. The town was so silent she almost thought her mind was playing tricks on her, quite often when one expects something the brain will create it for them. But far in the distance there was an unidentifiable sound that somehow she believed was not natural.

Corin's head cocked to the side looking at her in disbelief. "How did you hear that?" He asked with suspicion. Neriah merely shrugged and listened but the sound was no louder or closer then it had been before.

"We should get to the others. If it is something worthy of concern I for one would rather not charge in with only three of us." Brahma suggested.

Neriah stepped closer to the Dwarven woman. "I have to agree. It would be unadvisable to go with so few, should it be what we were sent here to find."

Corin rounded on the two women, "I will not run back to the others calling for help on your advisements. What if we bring them and it turns out to be simply scavengers or bandits. I refuse to be mocked because I took council from two women scared of the dark." Having said his piece he pressed on toward the strange sound and left the others to follow him.

In the northern quarter of Nordbotten sat a large building once dedicated to the "Black" Divine, the holy leader of the Tevinter Imperium; and between that and the end of the Lattenfluss river sat the graveyard of Nordbotten. Peering toward those gravestones in the twilight the paranoid part of Neriah's mind would have her believe it was the dead that had risen to life, but her sanity reasoned a far more dangerous scenario. Amongst the toppled stones and over grown vegetation there sat a small grouping of darkspawn, only fifteen or so, mostly comprised of hurlocks and genlocks although the Vanguard in their midst gave Neriah cause to hesitate. The failing light stripped them of anything remotely human and left them only as things of malice. These were the faces of the Chantry's stories and of the Survivor's nightmares. Their faces twisted and contorted in the low grunts and growls they used to communicate, between them lay a limp Dwarven form with dark auburn hair. Neriah looked around for signs of anyone else but saw only Theron's unconscious form bleeding at their muddy feet.

Neriah's heart stopped for a beat but then compensated but running double time when there was hauled footsteps behind where they hid. Brahma gave an almost inaudible gasp as they turned quickly and saw Faren bloodied and huffing in shallow breathes so as not to give himself away. "Faren what happened? Where is Rowan?"

Faren took a deeper breath and ducked behind the crumbled wall with them. "The darkspawn came upon us just before it got dark; we were over by the stables there." He raised a shaking hand to the right of the temple. "We didn't expect them to just walk around the other side of the building. They killed Rowan and took Theron. We only managed to kill ten or so." Faren hung his head in shame. "I was on top of that building, "He said not looking as he pointed to the rooftop behind them. "I could not save them no matter how many arrows I shot. I have failed them." The group sat silent for a bit; neither confirming nor denying what Faren said.

Corin was the first to move; he slipped from around the wall and emerged from the building's shadow, a blade in each hand and engaged the enemy. Brahma followed suit and stalked her way over to Theron's still form. Neriah and Faren raised weapons and struck out at the closest of the 'spawn. The battle was joined under the moonlight on an abandoned graveyard.

The 'spawn were not sluggish in their moves as they fell on top of Corin and Faren's flaming blades. Corin with his two long swords moved in a blurring rage as his attacks blended together in a dance of sharp silver and black blood. Faren was not only a fine archer but also a master of the dual wielding arts as well, preferring short curved daggers instead. As Faren also fell into a flurry of movements Neriah began to use what elemental power she had to freeze the darkspwan or electrocute them before crushing them with the very air they breathed and tossing some about on the wind.

Brahma rolled Theron onto his back and made a small whimpering sound when she saw the condition he was in. That single small sound drew the attention of the Hurlock Vanguard who stood on the edge on the battle; with three wide strides he had closed the space between himself and the two dwarves. Reaching down rapidly he plucked Brahma off the ground by the throat and lifted her into the air. To her credit Brahma simply growled defiantly and raised an axe to cut at the Vanguard's arm, but to Neriah's dismay she saw the bleeding Vanguard drop a lifeless Brahma to the ground, her neck broken. Corin sounded a great roar of anger and it seemed that for a moment even the darkspawn turned and looked to him before he collided with the Vanguard. Faren and Neriah killed the remaining few while Corin battled to avenge his comrades in arms.

A close blade missed the Vanguard's throat by a hair's width as he dodged backward escaping Corin's initial attack. Corin threw his second blade against his back to stop the sword of the Vanguard, for his efforts he was punished with two large gashes across the muscles of his back, but awarded with his spine remaining that the attack did not cut the Warden in half the Vanguard roared in frustration and Corin took the opportunity to land a heavy, armor encased right hook to the side of the darkspawn's face before he himself was kicked in the stomach. A second cross-sweep of both of Corin's blades connected low on the Vanguard's waist, missing most things vital but causing the beast to bleed immensely. The Vanguard retaliated with a rough pummel strike to the right side of Corin's face, breaking his nose and cheekbone. In the end it was the Vanguard that made a fatal mistake; he charged at Corin and did not correct as Corin stepped to the left and dropped his right arm, severing the Vanguards head and narrowly missing his own leg with his blade. The monster lay dead, hemorrhaging out on the no longer sacred ground.

Corin turned panting from exertion and walked over to Neriah; if it had not been for the adrenaline of battle he would have collapsed where he stood, but the same could be said for any of them. "Faren check on Theron and Brahma." Corin commanded as he sat on a piece of fallen building. "Neriah how bad is it?"

Neriah knelt behind him. "Brahma is dead," she told him in a monotone voice, "and your back will be easy to heal once we clean it." Neriah said looking over sadly at Brahma; _Theron will be so upset when he comes to_. She thought and turned to Corin. "Back to the gate with you," then added to Faren, "bring Theron. We're going back now...what's left of us anyway." She didn't wait to make sure Faren would listen she simply walked off and caught Corin's arm as he stumbled a bit.

Zola sat with her backs to them as they arrived, not paying the slightest amount of attention to them, her eyes were on a distant point a point in which their mounts and supplies should have been. Neriah walked slowly forward and tilted Zola's head up to look at them but her throat had been cut and blood oozed down the front of her studded leather armor. Neriah bowed her head to her hands "You shall not be left to wander the drift road of the Fade. For there is no darkness, nor death either, in the Maker's Light and nothing that He has wrought shall be lost."

"Luckily for us they didn't want you girl," Faren said drawing Neriah's attention away from the body that was once a friend. The only thing that now stood where their supplies had been was Theron's ox, Cressa. Faren was right they had unloaded the supplies and taken the horses, but they must have figured the ox was not worth taking after she had stomped one of the bandits in to the ground. Cressa stood to the outside of the gates and eyed them from the bush she ate.

"Faren put Theron down and go get the ox. The last thing I want to explain to him is why the wolves ate her." Corin groaned sitting down on the rocks.

"Why did you take off your chain mail? This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been in leather armor." Neriah scolded as she peeled of the leather armor. "I suppose you want me to fix this as well." She added tossing the armor to the ground.

"Yeah 'magic' it back together" Corin scoffed while slouching forward, his elbows on his knees.

"_Festis bei umo canavarum_." She grumbled as she set her hands to his shoulders, "This is going to feel like I'm stretching your skin out. It will be a bit uncomfortable"

"This isn't the first time I've been healed. I'm a Tevinter Grey Warden not some Orlesian choir boy, now do it." Corin ordered.

Neriah stood behind Corin and took a deep breath before pressing her hands flush to his shoulder blades; the muscles underneath her hands loosened and she looked down to see the tribal tattoo that had been narrowly missed by the Vanguard's blade. His deep blonde hair sat a few inches beyond his shoulders and she pushed it aside to examine the damage closer. The wound itself was wider then she had expected but surprisingly clean. Closing her eyes Neriah cleared her mind and reached out touching her hands to his skin again. This time instead of the feeling of his muscles there was a sudden surge of power and she could hear Corin snap his jaw shut. Breathing in deep she held her breath and control the magic so it wouldn't rip his back apart while trying to put him back together. After the jaw snap, and a few choice words from the Arcanum, Corin was back together and only a bit sore.

"Miracles, Neriah you perform miracles." Corin said standing and stretching out his tight back muscles.

"Don't say that. You know it's blasphemy against the Maker." Neriah said smirking under Corin's praise. Only Corin managed to get to her...only Corin. Ever since she joined the Grey Wardens there was something about this one human, this one Tevinter that had her wanting to work with him and learn from him...just to be around him. Shaking the unwelcome thought from her head she turned to help Theron. "Go help Faren find what you can. I'll fix Theron up and we can start back...there's only the four of us now..." She trailed off as Corin left her to her work.


End file.
